Two possible rail-to-trail projects are on the drawing boards in Washington state -- one in scenic northeastern Washington and another in the traffic-choked Seattle suburbs.

One could be a nationwide draw to bicycle tourists who could pick up the trail near Republic and follow the Kettle River 28 miles north to the Canadian border. The other could serve as a north-south bike commuter path from Renton to the Snohomish county line, 33 miles away.

Kettle Falls railroad

The proposed rail-trail in eastern Washington's Ferry County would be the first in the West to connect to Canada's rail-to-trail network ...   more »

See more Chilly Hilly 2007 pictures here

The Chilly Hilly bike ride lived up to its name again this year, providing the same old hills and the same old chilly, wet weather.

How hilly? The Cascade Bicycle Club organizers say there's 2,675 feet of climbing. How chilly? 40 degrees when I left the house this morning (you can calculate the wind chill with the drizzle, wind, and fast downhills).

That didn't deter me or thousands of other recreational cyclists from the Pacific Northwest, however, who took the early morning ferries across Puget Sound to the 33-mile ride around Bainbridge Island ...   more »

That's not Clint Eastwood pushing his bicycle along railroad tracks in some bizarre spaghetti Western. It's a scene from "Andes Bicycle Expedition: A Crossing of the Bolivian Altiplano."

Yannick Daoudi and Kathleen Mullin loaded their bicycles and rode a section of the Andes -- set at 13,000 feet -- known for its isolation and harsh weather conditions. It's a bike tour few, if any of us, would ever take.

They committed their biking adventure to film, which is being shown at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival Feb. 16-24 and is available at their website on DVD. ...   more »

The amazing Dan Sheret says he's proud to announce that the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team has agreed to become a major sponsor of his around the world bicycle tour -- Ability Trek 2007.

Dan will ride a bike made by United Bicycle and wear the Toyota-United team jersey on his journey.

Dan is a long-distance endurance amputee cyclist I wrote about several weeks ago (Amputee prepares for around world bicycle ride) who has been bicycling with a prosthesis since his lower right leg was amputed about five years ago.

Dan emailed me to spread the word and publically thank Toyota-United and the generous support of team owner Sean Tucker ...   more »

Searching for inspiration? Look no further than this story sent in by a reader about Guy Spear. You'll never again complain that it's too hot, too cold, or too windy for a bicycle ride.

Spear is a 68-year-old cyclist from North Carolina who regularly rides his bike about 100 miles a week. He lost his lower left leg 13 years ago when he was struck by a car, and now rides using a prosthesis, at right.

In a story in the Winston-Salem Journal, Spear says:

"Getting back on the bike wasn't hard. ... I guess you just do your thing and keep on going. I never got depressed or anything about it." ...   more »

If only I had signed up, maybe I could have been the winner of this Casual Agent touring bike from Vicious Cycles in New Paltz, New York.

Instead, the Adventure Cycling Association drew the name of Chuck Bailey, a longtime member and resident of Friday Harbor, up in the San Juan Islands in Washington state.

Well, you couldn't find a more deserving person, I guess. Chuck has been bicycle touring since the '80s ...   more »

When RAGBRAI announced its 2007 bike ride across Iowa, organizers said it would be the flattest one ever. The 2007 Denver Post Ride the Rockies can make no such claim.

The 422-mile bike route, which was unveiled Sunday, involves bicycling over four Colorado mountain passes with a total 24,000 feet of elevation gain.

The bicycle tour -- June 17-23 -- starts and ends in Frisco, with overnights stops in Steamboat Springs, Craig, Rifle, Glenwood Springs, Aspen, and Leadville. Bicyclists climb Rabbit Ears Pass the first day ...   more »

The WYMPS are the Waban Young Men's Pedaling Society. And while the Waban, Massachusetts-based club members do pedal, I have doubts about them being young.

The WYMPS have been bicycling cross-country for 11 years. They're not slow, they just tackle it one week at a time. They've covered the route West-to-East, and this summer they'll be in the midst of heading East-to-West.

Here's why Randy Carpenter contacted me for help. The group is looking to rent two rental vans to carry gear and store bikes for the 12 riders. Vans from a touring or outdoor outfit would be ideal. They're willing to pay, they just haven't found a tour outfit with vans to spare, yet. They need the vans from June 22-29, 2007 ...   more »